The Lies We Keep Novels & Stories

To the outside world, Xavier Sullivan and I are a loving couple. In truth, my father sold me to him to repay the debt he owes the Sullivan family. When the five-year contract expires, Xavier's parents want me to extend it. They threaten me and tell me I'm heading for certain death if I refuse. I have no choice but to fake my death and leave everything behind, taking only the child in my belly with me.

On our wedding night, Zach received a phone call and left my side. From then on, I knew that all of my efforts over the years had gone to waste. After all, the person he loved had returned. “Cassia, let’s get a divorce.” “But we just got married two days ago.” “You know that I don’t love you, and I never will.”

“Are you married?” I bit my tongue at the question that I have been dreading since I saw him in the boardroom. “Answer me!” His angry yell startled me. I couldn’t fault him for being mad. How do I begin to explain it? If I tell him the truth, we will lose the deal and if I continue with the lies, he will see me as a cheating woman. Either way, I am going to lose so I picked the better choice for me and for my company. “Yes, I am married.” ***** For Maeve Fitzgerald her night with Alessandro Marchesi was pure passion and the best night of her life that can only be one night. For Alessandro, it was so much more. Maeve was sure they will never cross paths again but fate has a different plan and it’s about to change her life forever.

My husband has a dangerous condition - Jacob's syndrome, a rare genetic disorder where men carry an extra Y chromosome (XYY). But it's not just the genetics - he has an uncontrollable rage that turns him into a monster. It all started when I saved his life. After that, he became obsessed with me, relentlessly pursuing me for three years. He deliberately ran his car into my childhood sweetheart, leaving him permanently disabled. Then he threatened to kill my entire family unless I married him. For seven years after our marriage, his controlling behavior became pathological. He even had a tracking chip implanted in my body and completely controlled my freedom. Yet at the same time, he showered me with endless love and catered to my every wish. When my mother-in-law pointed her finger at me while speaking, he snapped it without hesitation. When my sister-in-law's child disturbed my afternoon nap, he threw them both out of the house and severed all family ties. I refused to have a child, terrified of what darkness might be passed down, so he invested his entire fortune into developing cutting-edge genetic screening technology, making it possible for me to conceive a healthy baby. But on the very day I discovered I was pregnant... My mother-in-law stormed into our home with a group of people, accusing me of having an affair and carrying another man's child. They beat me until I lost the baby. As I lay there barely clinging to life, my husband finally arrived. My mother-in-law thrust a doctored video in his face and said, "Troy! Your wife had an affair and got pregnant with another man's child. Look, here's the proof!"

Five years after I broke up with my childhood sweetheart, Jason Thorne, my ALS progressed to its terminal stage. Since I can't receive any treatment for my disease at all, I decide to fly back to my hometown and wait for my death to come. Meanwhile, Jason has been dating a woman named Freya Tyler for five years. In fact, they are about to get married. Freya is even pregnant with Jason's child. We bump into each other in the hospital's garden. When Jason sees the blanket around my shoulders, he scoffs at me. "You're already this weak, and yet you're here all alone. It seems that your doctor boyfriend isn't taking good care of you at all. Then again, you did cheat on me with that guy. It only makes sense that your new relationship won't end well at all." Freya smiles brightly at me. "That's enough, Jason. It's not like everyone is capable of taking care of me very well, just like you do. "Our wedding will be held at the base of a snow mountain in Selvaria. You simply must attend our wedding, Ms. Moyer." As I gaze at Jason's cold and arrogant expression, I do my best to suppress my feelings of longing and guilt. Instead, I reply calmly, "No, thank you. I'm not interested in my ex-boyfriend's life. I'm only staying here for a short while. In the future, I will never come back ever again." Jason merely huffs before turning on his heel and walking away. But when I depart from this world, he loses his will to live too.

## **The Wicked Games We Play for Love** *Book One of The Wicked Series* Fourteen years ago, Dorian Vanderbilt abandoned Troy Summers in an orphanage. He locked her in a closet, walked away with his new wealthy family... and never came back. She spent fourteen years preparing for one thing. Revenge. Now twenty, Troy earns a place at an elite university where Dorian studies, armed with a simple plan: make him fall hopelessly in love with her, then destroy him piece by piece. Only Dorian isn't the boy she remembers. He is quiet. Calculating. Beautiful. Dangerous. A man with silver hair, ancient eyes, and a talent for seeing through every lie she tells. As Troy's carefully crafted seduction begins to work, her plan starts unraveling. The university hides violent secrets. Men fight like predators. Wolves roam the forests after dark. A lonely vampire mourns the loss of sunlight. Ancient druids guard magic that should no longer exist. And Dorian is not simply the heir to a powerful family... He is the nine-tailed fox. Bound by an ancient fae treaty that has stolen freedom from every supernatural race, Dorian has spent centuries manipulating allies and enemies alike in search of a way to break it. Troy was never supposed to become part of that plan. But the more they deceive each other, the more dangerous their game becomes. Every kiss is a test. Every touch is a lie. Every act of intimacy is another move in a ruthless battle between revenge and love. Until Troy discovers the truth. The boy she swore to destroy may be the only one capable of saving them all. And Dorian's greatest weakness has never been his enemies. It's the orphan girl he left behind.

Vivian Young becomes involved in an enticing romantic relationship with Louis Morris, the seductive billionaire. Their relationship swiftly develops into something much more than a passionate one-night fling, revealing the startling reality that Louis is not just a mysterious stranger but also her boss. Though their love grows quickly, they are ensnared in a forbidden relationship and stand on the precipice of power and danger. Vivian has to make her way down this perilous path where passion and danger converge. Will Vivian discover that her relationship with Louis is part of his revenge plan?

Nora was part of a transaction her father and Erik agreed upon. She was already married at the age of 18 five years ago. Nora is alone and desperate. The life, she thought, is nowhere near reality. The life of crime, and the unbridled carnal excesses that her husband lives, are dangerously bordering her on the brink of despair. Betrayed by her family, and by her husband. Nora wants to find a way out of this unwanted life, and one day finds love. Life seems to shine her way finally, but her that happiness was cut short. Nora thought that she had finally found her way to happiness. But her whole life fell apart in a matter of minutes. Alone and pregnant, Nora will have to face the person she fears the most from her past. Discover the future that awaits Nora. Where betrayals and misfortunes are just around the corner. And revenge is the main dish. Join Nora and Erik on this turbulent journey. Where mistakes are paid dearly. And the solutions are very painful.

In the last six months, I have been away for work. But when I come home, I find out that my wife, Vanessa Hudson, is now three months pregnant. She insists that she hasn't been cheating on me. But her ex-boyfriend's post online tells a different story. Harold Quinton writes, "Thank you, Vanessa, for fulfilling my dream of becoming a father. You've worked so hard through ovulation, egg retrieval, and implantation, mother of my child." Harold has a very severe case of erectile dysfunction. The moment I find out my wife has gotten pregnant with another man's test tube baby, I feel bitter inside. I dial my boss' number and say to her, "I'm willing to take on the overseas general manager position that you offered me previously." Then, I turn to Vanessa and say, "Let's get a divorce."

My best friend, Adeline Miller, and I marry into the Caldwell family together. Coincidentally, we become pregnant at the same time. I'm married to Rowan Caldwell, the older brother who's a famous psychiatrist. As for Adeline, she's married to Elliot Caldwell, the younger brother who's an extremely skilled doctor. Rowan gives me a ride to the hospital, hoping to accompany me to my prenatal check-up due to the discomfort I've been feeling throughout my pregnancy. But on the way there, he abandons me by the road and leaves me there because of a phone call from his first love, Veronica Whitmore. As I sob, I beg him, "Please, Rowan, I'm begging you! It's raining heavily right now! Can you please drive me to the hospital first?" Rowan shakes my hand off impatiently. "Veronica has slit her wrist! This means she might die! Can you be more understanding toward her situation, Emilia? I'm going to tend to her injury right now! You can go to the hospital on your own!" It's raining cats and dogs out in the world. Yet, Rowan doesn't hesitate to ditch me on the highway. Left without a choice, I can only call Adeline and ask her to drive over to pick me up. Unexpectedly, on the way to the hospital, we see a truck barreling toward us. While I'm unconscious, I hear Adeline crying while calling Elliot on the phone, only to get reprimanded by him. "Stop messing around, Adeline! Must you come up with all sorts of lies whenever I'm spending time with Veronica?" It's thanks to a passerby's help that an ambulance is called to the crash site. That's how we get to survive afterward. Alas, we both end up losing our babies. Upon regaining our consciousness, we just smile bitterly at each other. "Are you getting a divorce?" "Yeah."